Reality Check: An apology of Eyre’s

November 18, 2017

After blatantly misrepresenting a specific homework assignment on Treaty education and calling the entire curriculum into question, this week, Education Minister Bronwyn Eyre has taken several opportunities to say she was apologizing but, there still seems to be something not quite right about what she says is her apology.

In the last week alone, she has released a written statement, spoken to the Saskatchewan School Boards Association, addressed questions raised by the NDP in the Legislature (she didn’t really answer but she did stand up and speak), and she spoke to the media two separate times.

Eight times, she referenced her own “broad” and “sweeping” “apology” but, despite direct questions, she refused to say to whom or for what she was apologizing.

So let’s have a look at who exactly she has apologized to and for what she has actually apologized for.

By our count, the minister mentioned and apologized for “the disputed account I included in my Throne Speech reply” nine times, and apologized twice for “confusion” but took responsibility and apologized for misrepresenting the assignment – which she clearly did – zero times.

Eleven separate times, the Minister publicly apologized and publicly promised to stop publicly mentioning her son or his homework 11 times. But the teacher who she targeted in the Legislature with her attack was given a public apology, zero times.

If the Minister is still refusing to admit that she was wrong and explain what motivated her to attack Treaty education, her next apology should be to Saskatchewan people for breaking their trust and she should resign.